duel
Americannoun
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a prearranged combat between two persons, fought with deadly weapons according to an accepted code of procedure, especially to settle a private quarrel.
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any contest between two persons or parties.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a prearranged combat with deadly weapons between two people following a formal procedure in the presence of seconds and traditionally fought until one party was wounded or killed, usually to settle a quarrel involving a point of honour
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a contest or conflict between two persons or parties
verb
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to fight in a duel
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to contest closely
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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duelsimple
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duelssimple
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have dueledperfect
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have duelledperfect
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has dueledperfect
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has duelledperfect
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am duelingprogressive
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am duellingprogressive
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are duelingprogressive
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are duellingprogressive
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is duelingprogressive
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is duellingprogressive
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have been duelingperfect progressive
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have been duellingperfect progressive
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has been duelingperfect progressive
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has been duellingperfect progressive
Past
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dueledsimple
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duelledsimple
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had dueledperfect
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had duelledperfect
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was duelingprogressive
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was duellingprogressive
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were duelingprogressive
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were duellingprogressive
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had been duelingperfect progressive
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had been duellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duel
1585–95; earlier duell < Medieval Latin duellum, Latin: earlier form of bellum war, probably maintained and given sense “duel” by association with Latin duo two
Explanation
A duel is a fight between two people, usually using swords or other weapons. If you tend to be a little cowardly, you're probably glad that people aren't expected to defend their honor with a duel these days. The classic definition of a duel is the kind that happens all the time in Shakespeare plays: two men clanking swords together in a battle to the death over some issue of honor or betrayal. Today, the word duel can be used to talk about any kind of contest or struggle — like a duel between political candidates. The word duel can be traced back to both duo, Latin for "two," and also duellum, which means "war."
Vocabulary lists containing duel
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Why did book lovers stop just short of challenging Kondo to a duel over something she didn’t actually say?
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The fact that Argentina have the worst aerial duel success rate of the final four should give England hope that their threat in the air can continue.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
But what makes the Meat Wall so effective is how it pushes the duel between attackers and defenders so much closer to the goal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Justin Wrobleski and José Soriano were locked in a pitchers’ duel until Mookie Betts ignited a surge that sealed the Dodgers’ win over the Angels.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
The kind of weapon that Aaron Burr used to kill Alexander Hamilton in their infamous duel.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
"He should compete better in the duels, spending much more time in the gym. I know he's working on that, but he can improve and he has to improve."
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
De la Fuente reinforced that idea before Lamine Yamal won more duels than any of his team-mates in the quarter-final victory against Belgium.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Maresca's midfield is crucial when his teams do not have the ball, with Caicedo winning possession 315 times and 318 duels while playing for the ex-Leicester manager in the Premier League.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Cuban-manned tanks fought Israeli forces in armored duels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
When we wanted to bet on our own duels, Sovoy and I placed bets for each other.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
They had already dueled on the clay of Roland-Garros and the grass of Wimbledon this season, taking one final apiece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2025
The only remaining evidence of the feast, accompanied by milk buns a server calls “Chinese doughnuts,” are the looks of contentment on those who dueled with it.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2023
You could choose to showcase different sorts of stories with a more positive attitude and still be a hit; see Oprah Winfrey, whose talk show Springer’s dueled with in the ratings.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Cooke and Czinano dueled in a thrilling Final Four matchup that saw Czinano, an All-Big Ten first-team selection, score 18 points as the Hawkeyes shocked Cooke’s previously undefeated Gamecocks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2023
Limpio took off with Seabiscuit, and the two dueled through sprinter fractions.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
One of these players applied light pressure on Alisson while their other player duelled with Virgil van Dijk, impairing his movement.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025
But Valérien Ismaël, Barnsley’s head coach, has previously duelled with Tuchel on the touchline in the Bundesliga, when his Wolfsburg side lost 3-0 to Borussia Dortmund.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 11, 2021
Open ended with Mickelson once again having to settle for being second after he and fellow American Payne Stewart had duelled for the title during a cool and rainy final round.
From Reuters ● Jun. 10, 2014
Above, planes, that in 1914 would have appeared unimaginably sophisticated duelled in the skies, some carrying experimental wireless radio sets, reporting real-time reconnaissance.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2014
She’d duelled for their freedom, out-pirated the pirates, gained the crew’s respect so well that Blackbeard finally put them ashore lest Hylla take over his ship.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
The cone of silence around the wedding is the only place in which these dueling Swifts can freely coexist.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
For months, Uber and lawyers from across the state poured tens of millions into dueling ballot measures that threatened to devastate the profits of whichever side lost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Those dueling benedictions point to the challenge ahead for Warsh, who is inheriting a burgeoning inflation problem that could make it difficult to persuade his new colleagues that the low rates Trump wants are advisable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
They have dueling AI models, with OpenAI generally considered to be stronger in the consumer space with its ChatGPT chatbot and Anthropic having the edge External link in corporate applications.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
He turned around now to look at me, for he was still dueling, posing a rhetorical question, almost a joke.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
London's Metropolitan Police said ahead of the duelling events that it would mount one of its largest operations in recent years, as the British capital also hosts the FA Cup Final.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
Soon after Disney pulled the plug, Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, with whom she shares a son, released duelling statements with fresh allegations about their turbulent relationship.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
"There was good football, duelling and momentum shifts. I'm proud of the team in the rain, in the circumstances, we get over the line and find a way to win this game."
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
At the start of Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Yorke and Greenwood face each other and play duelling guitars.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
Percy had been intimidating enough before - summoning hurricanes, duelling pirates, killing giants in the Colosseum...
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
